


you never do.

by DictionaryWrites



Category: Marvel
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 23:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15375831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DictionaryWrites/pseuds/DictionaryWrites
Summary: After a sojourn abroad, Loki returns.He meets Heimdall on the Bifrost.





	you never do.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mitzvahmelting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitzvahmelting/gifts).



“You’re back,” Heimdall says quietly. Loki does not move from his place on the very edge of the Bifrost, sitting cross-legged and looking out over the sea of stars and the expanse of water that goes out to Asgard’s edge. He sits just outside the Watchtower, and Heimdall watches him for a long few moments.

“You weren’t here,” Loki says. “When I came through from Alfheim.” Heimdall’s golden gaze rests on him, heavy and weighty.

“There was a Council of the Gods,” Heimdall says. “You missed it.” Distantly, Loki feels guilt, thick and coiled in his chest, but then he shrugs his shoulders and looks away again. He doesn’t wish to move into Asgard proper, not yet, not when Thor and Mother will demand where he was, not when Father will look at him so coldly.

Nine years he’s been gone - a short period, in the scheme of things, but they hate it when he disappears for even a few months at a time. 

“How found you Grafala?” Heimdall asks quietly. He knows what Loki must be thinking, knows exactly why he’s reluctant to go back to the palace. It is the same every time - they’ve performed this routine a hundred times. 

“It was beautiful,” Loki whispers. He thinks of the city of Gata, thinks of the way the buildings had grown so tall, thinks of the green, luscious carpets of grass and flowers that marked the cities, and the way trees grew alongside great skyscrapers– “I didn’t want to come back.”

“You never do,” Heimdall murmurs. There’s disapproval in his voice, but it’s mixed with a quiet melancholy, and Loki feels the Watcher step closer. He bends down, and Loki inhales when he feels Heimdall’s hand against his shoulder, impossibly gentle, and Loki bites his lip. “But you  _do_. That is what’s important.”

“And if there comes a day where I don’t?” Loki asks softly. “Will you hate me, Heimdall?”

“No,” Heimdall murmurs. “No, your highness, I will never hate you.” Loki turns to look at him, to look at Heimdall’s serious, but  _warm_  expression, and he hesitates, his hands held up toward his chest. Heimdall leans in closer, and Loki grabs at him, squeezing him tightly and pressing the side of his cheek against Heimdall’s chest. “You’ve scarcely met your first millennium, Loki,” Heimdall murmurs quietly. “You are still young: it will get easier.”

“You’re a liar,” Loki whispers. “You  _know_ it will only get worse.” Heimdall says nothing. He merely pats Loki’s back, gently and with a heavy hand, and after a long few moments of relaxing into his warmth, his gentleness, how all-encompassing and  _broad_  Heimdall is. He feels  _safe_. 

He doesn’t want to move back up to the palace, doesn’t feel ready for the barrage of questions and concerns…

But he must. 

“Good night, Heimdall,” Loki murmurs as he draws away, slowly standing to his feet.

“Good night, Loki,” Heimdall replies, and Loki stands for just a moment longer on the Bifrost, looking toward Asgard–

And then he begins to walk down the Bifrost. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Hit me up on Tumblr](http://dictionarywrites.tumblr.com/faq). Requests always open.


End file.
